Reading just one text on any topic, Cummins argues, isn't enough if we expect students to learn at deep levels about the topic, synthesize various sources of information, and gain the knowledge they need to write and speak seriously about the topic. Reading a second or third text expands a reader's knowledge on any topic or story--and the why…

Defines education's new paradigm as schooling based on decision making, the critical thinking skills serving it, and the knowledge base supporting it. Outlines a model decision-making process using a hypothetical breakfast problem; a late riser chooses goals, generates ideas, develops an action plan, and implements and evaluates it. (4 references)…

Recent advances in theory and research provide a basis for defining higher-order thinking skills and for designing tests of such skills. (MCG)

This review focuses on the areas of research that have the greatest relevance for bilingual programs: sociolinguistics and bilingualism, second language learning, sociocultural factors, and effectiveness of bilingual education. (Author/MLF)

A meta-analysis of 51 studies of computer-based instruction shows: a rise in student test scores; student attitudes toward the subject that are slightly more favorable; student attitudes toward computers that are strikingly more positive; and savings from 39 percent to 88 percent in student learning time. (MLF)

The state of Connecticut has introduced a fourth-grade mastery test that assesses thinking skills. The test was developed cooperatively by the state's Department of Education, a testing corporation, and several cognitive psychologists; several alternative models of thinking were synthesized to produce a theoretical foundation for the test. (MCG)